


Nightmares

by Sharonneke95



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Gen, Healing, Heavy things?, Hugs, Nightmares, POV Tony Stark, Peter Parker Has Nightmares, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker has PTSD, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pre-Spider-Man: Far From Home (Movie), Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has Nightmares, Why do people keep dropping things on him?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:21:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27139288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharonneke95/pseuds/Sharonneke95
Summary: When Peter fell asleep on the couch, Tony sure was not going to wake the kid. So when he was notified by F.R.I.D.A.Y. that his most favourite intern was not sleeping well, he decided to check it out. Cue a crying teen and a heart-to-heart between the mentor and the Spiderling about nightmares. Tony sure can deal with feelings if he has to. Kind of.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Kudos: 82





	Nightmares

It was Friday evening. Like every other Friday, Peter had left school at the end of the day to head directly to the compound, where he had worked on the widow bites together with mr. Stark, followed by pizza and a movie. Unlike every other Friday, Peter was so tired that he had not managed to stay awake until the end of the movie. After a call from Tony to aunt May, the two adults decided to just let him sleep. 

May was a little worried for her nephew. She had noticed him suffering from nightmares every now and then, but when she asked him about them, he waved it off with a smile and a distracting comment. Tony did not know about the nightmares, but he had noticed the blue shadows under the kid’s eyes, which only ever seemed to grow darker no matter how much time passed. He wasn’t one to ask about it, though, figuring the Spiderling would come to him if he wanted to talk.

To now see Peter fast asleep on the couch made the both of them not want to interrupt. Right before going to bed himself, Tony gave F.R.I.D.A.Y. the task to let him know when the kid woke up and, just to be sure, also put up a note on the door to the living room, making sure everyone who came in (through the door…) would know to expect a guest and to let him sleep. He was pretty sure most of the other Avengers had figured out that Tony’s personal intern was the same boy as the red’n’blue-clad hero that roamed the streets and helped them out sometimes, but they had never officially met in that capacity, and Tony liked to keep it that way. The kid already had so much on his mind; Tony didn’t want to bother him with the knowledge that his secret identity was not so secret anymore. At least not to the team.

It was somewhere halfway through the night when F.R.I.D.A.Y. notified him - he had been scrolling through his phone, as he always did between the night-naps he took - saying Peter was technically still asleep, but he was very restless. Tony got up, donned some robes and headed for the living room.

“No… Hmmm, no… Please…”

The pained whispers made him walk a little faster. He opened the door carefully, but just as he had suspected, Peter was mumbling, tossing and turning in his sleep. Tony hesitated only a moment before crossing the distance and giving the boy’s shoulder a light shake. Eyes flew open, arms flailing, and the teen landed not too graciously next to the couch. A look of confusion crossed his face but that was quickly chased away by embarrassment when he realised where he was and who was standing in front of him. 

“I’m so sorry if I woke you, mr. Stark.” He curled in on himself before setting off, rambling. “I’ve been having kind of bad dreams. I always hope I’ll wake up soon enough, but that never works. Or that I’ll tire out enough at some point to sleep through the night, but that also isn’t happening. I just…” The kid finally took a breath and the dam broke. “I’m so tired, but I am so scared of falling asleep and for the bad dreams to return. I’m pretty sure I woke May up at least twice and now you and…” He trailed off.

Tony looked down at the kid, swallowed the joke he would’ve made had it been anyone else and sat on the couch, gesturing Peter to come sit next to him. “You didn’t wake me. I technically wasn’t asleep. And even if I were, I would have been completely fine with you waking me. And I’m pretty sure your aunt would’ve said the same. Why didn’t you tell us your nightmares were this bad?”

Peter looked up, eyes wide and a little puffy. “I don’t want to have them. I thought, maybe if I pretended nothing’s wrong, they’d go away. And, you know…” His gaze averted, looking anywhere but at Tony. Tony waited for Peter to continue, wanting the kid to speak his mind, to talk about what was happening. It took a moment, but then Peter continued, still not looking at Tony. “I’m… I’m Spider-Man. How can I keep people safe when I can’t even get over a stupid, childish nightmare?”

Tony put a hand on Peter’s upper arm. “Kid, nightmares are not stupid nor childish. And I can know.” Peter looked him up questioningly, almost as if he couldn’t believe Iron Man suffered from nightmares, too. “Ever since New York, I’ve been having them. It used to be really bad. So bad that my suits would respond and scare the heck out of Pepper.” He really didn’t like remembering that. How bad a place he had been in back then… “But I started talking about them, and they would stay away longer. They still me bother sometimes, and then I’ll stay awake the night after and tinker around in the lab.” That earned him a somewhat watery smile. “So, I’m not saying they’ll go away, but they get better.”

Peter nodded slowly, deep in thought and visibly tired. Tony gave him some time, not wanting the teen to feel forced into talking. He knew that mouth would move as soon as it was ready. Which was pretty soon. “I keep dreaming of everything collapsing. Sometimes I’m back at the airport, sometimes at Vulture’s headquarters and sometimes I’m at random other places. The ceiling comes down, and I’m not strong enough to lift it up. I know that both at the airport and in Vulture’s lair I got out, so it’s stupid, but in my dreams, I can’t…” Tears started escaping from Peter’s eyes, but he was too embarrassed to let them flow freely. As he took a breath to continue, his throat blocked and the tears only flowed faster, until he couldn’t stop them. His breath hitched again.

Tony pulled the boy into an embrace, something which he only did because 1. It was late at night, 2. He was tired, too, and 3. Peter was looking even younger than usual. It was easy to forget when they were playing around in the lab and the kid was all sunshine and daisies, chattering happily away, but Tony knew he needed to keep the age in mind. He still fought with himself over whether bringing the Spiderling in for the airport in Leipzig was a good move or not. Cap sure disagreed with him over than one. And Tony hadn’t even known about Peter getting stuck in the collapsed vulture-building! But that was something for him to revisit another time. Peter had calmed down enough to talk again.

“And sometimes there’s someone else, too. May, Ned, MJ. Sometimes it’s you. Sometimes even Ben. And I can never lift the damn building!” Peter wasn’t one to swear, so it only showed how frustrated - and tired - he was. 

Tony let go and looked the kid in the eyes. “Listen, kiddo, that’s not a stupid, childish nightmare, you hear me? What you’ve been through, that's enough to leave some scars.” 

Peter looked away, unhappily, before mumbling: “I heal fast. I don’t have scars.” 

“Look at me, kid.” Tony waited until the teen obliged before softly saying: “I’m talking mental scars. Unfortunately, your healing abilities don’t stretch that far.” Now it was Tony who looked away. “Believe me, I know how frustrating it is. This isn’t something you can chase away with a cough drop and tea with honey. You need to give yourself time and find a way to get through that. Don’t tell anyone I said this, but I know that Steve works through his nightmares by writing letters. He never sends them, just writes them. I, as you know, tend to distract myself in the lab. Bruce prefers to talk to a therapist. You need to find what works for you, and that will take some time. Just let May and me know what you need, or what you want to try, and we’ll be there to help as much as we can.”

Peter let that sink in and nodded. “I guess… That makes sense. I just… I’m so tired right now. Too tired to think about it. But in the morning, it doesn’t seem bad enough to really do something about, you know?”

Tony nodded. “First thing tomorrow, after breakfast and coffee that is, we’ll commandeer one of Pepper’s offices. I’ll remind you that it’s important. And you can decide with a clear mind where you want to start. Is that an idea?”

Peter smiled at that. “Okay.” It was followed by a big yawn.

“Okay. Way past children’s bedtime. Come here.” The mentor once again pulled Peter into a hug. A long one this time. So long, that by the time Tony figured they should really pull away, the kid had fallen asleep against his shoulder. He looked so peaceful, Tony decided to lean back and let him sleep. He was a little tired, too, and the couch was comfortable enough to let him rest his eyes for a while.

That is how the Avengers found the two in the morning, sound asleep on the couch, warned by a note on the door to be quiet. Finally fast asleep on at the start of the road to recovery.

**Author's Note:**

> Beta-ed by: [Kate_Kate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kate_kate)
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> If you've noticed any mistakes (typos, grammar issues, continuity flaws) and feel like pointing it out, please do so! Other comments (and kudos) are of course highly appreciated as well <3
> 
> \- Sharonneke95


End file.
